Our long-time readers may remember that we visited Verona during our first visit together to Italy in July 2018, eight (!) years ago (https://vinoconvino.blogspot.com/2018/07/visiting-verona.html). We just came back from our seventh visit to Italy, and we started with a return to Verona, which we used as an entry point to visiting the Dolomites and Lake Garda. As usual, we had a great time in Italy, including our one full day in Verona.
Last time we were in Verona, we could not visit its famous Roman Arena because of a Lenny Kravitz concert being set up. This time, we got tickets to a concert dedicated to opera, which has been named an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. The concert itself was a bit strange with too much talking and self-congratulations, but the site is truly spectacular.
We did get to see Placido Domingo (of Three Tenors fame) perform briefly, and although he is 85 years old, he still sounded good to our untrained ears. He may have disagreed because it seemed he requested a do-over of his performance while being interviewed afterward (we said the show was a bit strange), and then sang the same piece again to great applause. Patti Smith also performed "Because the Night," clearly
not opera, but then she described how much opera apparently influnced her.
We spent our day walking around learning a bit about the history of Verona and viewing its beauty.
We did return to the famous Castelvecchio and Ponte di Castelvecchio, which were key to the city's defense for many years.
Of course, we had a fantastic lunch, including trying horsemeat stew, which is a specialty of the Veneto region. A big thank you to Stanley Tucci for this information, which gave us the confidence to try the dish when it appeared on the menu.
The best thing we did, however, was a visit to the Biblioteca Capitolare di Verona, which they advertise as the oldest continuously operating library in the world. While this claim is disputed, the library can be dated to the year 517 by a manuscript signed and dated by its copyist (this being before the invention of the printing press). The library museum only opened to the public in 2023, and we were so glad we stumbled on it.
Right beside the library is Verona's Duomo complex, which was the site of a wedding the day we were there. This was the couple's car and driver for after the ceremony, but he was very kind to pose perfectly for Shana's photo.
This lady and her dogs may not have been posing, but there were seven of them, so Shana just had to snap a picture.
We really enjoyed our return to Verona, and recommend the city for a visit, especially if old books interest you. More about our Italian adventures soon.
